FAIRYTALE

In one paragraph, reflecting your understanding the TEXT model, please describe your favorite fairytale (one you've READ), and explain why.

Add a splash of figurative language.

Identify three examples of figurative language that you have used (or will use)  in your story:  at least one must be a metaphor; at least one must be a simile.  (Please write the complete sentence in which they appear.)

PAIR SHARE - YOUR SHORT STORY

YOUR PARTNER OFFERED YOU SOME THOUGHTFUL SUGGESTIONS.

What suggestions do you find most helpful?
Which two will you likely use?
How will your story change as a result of this exercise?
Identify the most creative and engaging ideas and suggestions that you offered your partner in return.

What other questions do you have as we begin the writing process?

Treasured posssessions

Name and describe at least five 'possessions' that you cherish.  Which two could be good gifts for other people in your life?  Explain why you cherish these things and why you think others would appreciate receiving them as gifts.

THE FIVE PARTS OF OUR SHORT STORIES

For Periods C & F: Is man essentially good or evil?

NATURE VS. NURTURE:  A lot of our reading deals with characters  failing to live up to our standards of morality, civility, or generosity.  Does our reading truly reflect how people are, at their core?  Are men and women born with evil in their hearts, or is it shaped by the environment in which they are born and raised?  Due during the first 10 minutes of class.

Don't you love a bargain?

Sometimes a bargain isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Describe a time when you've believed that you made a good, practical and affordable choice.  Did it turn out to be the best choice? Tell your story, complete your assignment, and be nice to Mr. R. You can find AT THE BARBER by Anton Chekov on my website, under 9th grade assignments.   See you on Monday!

Traditions

In every life, every family, every community, long-held traditions are honored and maintained.  What tradition do you and your family members, or friends, keep and why?  Is the tradition important to you?  How does it affect your life, overall?  Complete your post prior to the end of today's class, and before reading Shirley Jackson's THE LOTTERY.  The text of the story is available on my homework page, under "9th Grade Assignments".  sites.google.com/site/picozzihomeworkpage/.   HAVE A GREAT DAY and be good for Mrs. Demers.

What can we do for 'justice'?

As we consider the injustices in our reading, as well as the injustices around us, we do so with a range of emotions.  What do you think we can do, as individuals and as members of our community, to ensure that our world becomes a more peaceful, equitable place?  YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES.

FALSE ACCUSATIONS

Have you ever been accused of doing something that you truly did not do?  How did it make you feel? Have you ever believed someone to be guilty of doing wrong when in fact they were innocent?  Have you ever accused someone of doing something wrong when you did not know for sure that they were guilty of doing it? Think about being falsely accused.  Tell a story that involves a false accusation.  Use all of your artistry as a writer to tell this story.  YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES.

Run, run, runaway

Dill believes he has good reason to leave home as a runaway.  Yet when he's found in the Finch home hiding under a bed, Scout and Jem seem to have different views about what to do with him.  Imagine yourself in that position today.  Try to be as honest as possible when considering your options:  what would you do if you had a friend who appeared in a similar way?

Words of Wisdom

It is one of those things parents and adults do so well:  offering words of wisdom.  What are the most memorable words of wisdow -- words that you try to live by -- that you have ever received? 

Now, review the first three chapters of To Kill A Mockingbird.  What words of wisdom have you found in those pages?  Are they still relevant today?

Due on or before 7 a.m. Sept. 20.

Metaphoric 'Mirror'

If you will excuse the pun, reflect for a moment on  "Mirror."  Who is the narrator?  What do you think the author is trying to teach us? I encourage you to enter into discussion with your classmates.  Do you agree or disagree with their analyses? Due on Monday, September 10, 7 a.m. 

 

Mirror

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful-
The eye of the little god, four cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.
Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.

By Sylvia Plath

First Impressions

We begin our school year just as we will end it:  writing. Whether we are writing responses to literature, fictional narratives, persuasive essays, poetry, or blog posts right here in this space, we will be fine tuning our skills and improving our ability to communicate in writing.  Your homework:  join this site as (see sidebar at left), and write a four to six line poem introducing yourself to me and to the rest of the class.  Due by 7 a.m. Tuesday, September 4, 2012.