Prompts to help you get started on your post...

This post takes the same material that we covered earlier in the year--that I posted HERE--in question form, just in case you are having a hard time getting started on your posts each week. 

• What is the major conflict of the book? How is it resolved? What theme or message does this reveal to the reader?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the protagonist? How do they help or hinder him/her during the rising and falling action? What kind of emotional journey has your character had in the story?
• What antagonistic forces seem to be working against the protagonist? How does the protagonist deal with them? Does he/she learn anything from them?
• Have you come across a deep "loaded sentence" that requires unpacking? What does it mean?
• If the setting is significant and symbolic, describe and unpack it.  Why do you think the author created this place to tell the story?

As always, please come during zero period if you need help developing your blog posts.

Tips for elaboration in paragraph two:

• cite more than one piece of specific evidence that supports your idea
• unpack the evidence thoughtfully: word choice, emphasis, figurative or symbolic choices

Blog Post Assignment Due 1/25

This week I want  you to continue with the thought process we have been working on all year (Observe+Infer, Interpret, Extend) and connect it to some of the visual arts work we have done in our poetry unit, including our study of Frida Kahlo's "Self Portrait on the Border" and the pairing of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat with Maya Angelou's "Life Doesn't Frighten Me."  Your job is to:

•  Find a piece of visual art that you love and display it at the top of your post (use the button that looks like a picture when you write your post).  
• Make observations about the work you chose.  What do you infer from them?  What do you think that the work is actually about based on them?
• Turn these ideas into an organized blog post.  These steps are the same ones you should be following each week to meet standards anyway.  Remember: 

Paragraph 1: A lead, an introduction to the work, your theory
Paragraph 2: Evidence that supports your theory
Paragraph 3: Extension: how do you connect to this work? how does it connect to humanity? etc.

*as always, write more to exceed standards and check out mentors if you need help.
*don't forget that you are now commenting on at least TWO other posts per week!

Here are some online galleries that you can visit to find a piece of visual art that you love or find thought provoking.  Be sure to take your time to browse and explore so that you can find something you are excited about!

The Google Art Project takes you to amazing museums around the world. 
The Museum of Modern Art's (Manhattan) online collection
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's (Manhattan) online collection
The Brooklyn Museum's online collection

Extra credit: Along with  your post, write a poem in response to the piece of art.  It must incorporate at least three of the poetic devices that are on your sheet (that you are actively studying!) Name those devices in an introductory paragraph to your poem. 12 line minimum.

Assignment due Wednesday 1/18 instead of your regular post

Since we are working becoming a stronger community of readers, I want you to spend this week reading and commenting on other people's posts instead of you own.  You must comment on at least 3.  When you are done, you will create a post that nominates an "All Star Mentor." Your post must include the following:

• Your nomination (a single post by a single author) with a LINK to the post

• A paragraph explaining why you think that writer exemplifies the kind of blog/reading response writing we've been talking about all year. Be specific. 

This is a great opportunity to give a shout out to someone else's hard work...it doesn't happen often enough! 

Creating Better Community Through the Comment

Part of the reason why I love posting reading responses online rather than just having them live in your notebooks is because it enables us to easily share about our reading lives.  I believe that by reading one another's work, great things will happen.  For instance: 

• You can get book recommendations
• You can get into conversations about books you have read, too, or topics that are interesting to you
• You will become a better writer because not only are you reading work, but you will begin to care more when you know that people are reading your work

So, in order to create a tighter knit reading and writing community, you are now required to create a "blog roll" (or "link list")  if you haven't already of the blogs that you want to keep up with regularly.  You are required to comment on at least 2 blog posts from your class weekly.  My hope is that you will get to know each other better as readers (and nonfiction writers) and that you will learn from one another. I will be checking these responses.

A good, thoughtful blog comment might:

• praise interesting ideas in the original post, specifically (don't just say "nice job")
• ask for clarification of any unclear parts of the original post
• add the responder's own thoughts to original ideas to build strength
• contradict or challenge (respectfully!) by explaining another aspect or asking a question to further dialogue
• contain connections (to the self, the world, another text, or another part of the same text) to deepen thinking about the post

Sample starters: 

• When you said __________ I thought________
• I love the line ____________ because___________
• When you said ____________ it got me thinking about________

***  AND good, thoughtful blog responses  always

• are respectful
• use standard vocab, spelling, and grammar (so that everyone can understand)
• show consideration of the original blogger's work and thought

Here are some examples of some interesting conversations that got started last year: 


On girls reading boy characters
A poem based on Banksy's street art
A poem about death based on a painting by Gustav Klimt



(Sidenote: As I already see the eyes rolling, please remember that we are about to hit the half way point of 8th grade.  It makes sense that work would get more involved.  Also, please remember my advice to carry a positive attitude!)