Comments for your (colorful) classmates

Find your name in the groups below then click on the blogs of the classmates in your group.  

Step 1:

Read the person's "I am" Poem and leave a friendly comment suggesting at least 1 thing you find interesting about the writer and 1 thing you have in common. You might take a look at the comment I left on your own "I am" Poem to get an idea of what to say.

Step 2:

Read the person's Object-Inspired Piece and leave a comment with 3 specific, supportive and complimentary remarks regarding the piece and how it was written.   Nothing critical or suggesting changes at this point...

Include a greeting at the beginning of your comment (like "Hi, Taylor!) and a brief statement of encouragement at the end of your comment (like "Thanks for sharing this!" or "I look forward to seeing more of your work.")  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 his baseball could sound so natural."  Don't cop out and put a rushed, generic comment like, "It was good" or "Nice job."   

Step 3:

Read the person's color-inspired poems and leave a comment naming at least 1 line you really like in each (there should be 6 poems total: 2 haikus, 1 acrostic, 1 free verse, 1 narrative, 1 collage-inspired, 1 color association).

Step 4:

Read the person's "If I Were in Charge of the World" poem naming at least one idea you find interesting or amusing or something you agree with.

Step 5:

Then copy and paste the comments you made into a New Post on your own blog so I can quickly give you credit for offering feedback.  You can title the post "Comments for Classmates."

Groups:

Aubrey
Avery
Lilli B
Kambria

Mia
Leah
Eva
Hannah

Ethan W.
Aiden
Imaney
Alexandra

Lorna
Lilly P.
Jake 
Gavin

Belita
Marcus
Kenzie W
Bella

Calder
Mackenzie W
Alex
Jacob
Ethan S

If you run out of time in class today please be sure to finish commenting on your own time before class tomorrow.

If I Were in Charge of the World...

In the spirit of DREAMING big, do some thinking about how you might shape the world if you could...what you would change or eliminate, what you would add or emphasize, what you would want for yourself and all of those you share this big place with...

Using the folded sheet with the "If I Were in Charge of the World" poem by Judith Viorst as a starting point and a template, gather some of these ideas you have about what you'd like to see in a world of your own dreams or making. Polish and share your poem in a New Post on your own blog. Include at least one image, maybe several.  

Color Catch-Up

Please have all assignments connected to the the theme of COLOR posted to your blog before the beginning of class tomorrow (Wednesday).

You should have:

Paint Chip Poems (all in one post or separate--your choice):

• 2 haikus
• 1 acrostic
• 1 free verse
• 1 narrative (poem or short piece of prose)

Color Collage Poem

Color Association Poem OR Color Story 

JUNIORS ONLY (from the counselors):

Please make sure you are completing your scheduling form by 2nd block tomorrow. 
You can go to:
Canvas> Kickapoo Counseling Commons > Scheduling > Click on Current Grade Scheduling Form

You will also need to turn in the BLUE form with course recommendations and signatures for all courses you scheduled. 

If you are taking honors English, please turn in your honors reading form to your previous English teacher.

Counselors will be available at all lunches today to answer questions.

From Fraser: Creative Writing isn't being offered next year, but I'd love to see you and your friends in Contemporary Literature or Film as Literature or English 4! XO

Monday's Option #2: Color Story

In a New Post (of at least 300 words, with at least one image and a creative title) on your blog by the end of class on Friday, write a short story (fiction or non-fiction narrative) that begins with a sentence that includes the word BLUE.

Start each of the paragraphs (at least 4 total for your story) following with  a sentence using a different COLOR word.  Include at least one image.  If you need more than 4 paragraphs to tell your story, that's fine.  

Use the COLOR word only once in each paragraph, but suggest the color in as many ways as possible. Highlight the details you've used in the color they're suggesting.

For example:

The world had turned GREY. Nothing but mud and asphalt surrounded the unpainted house, little more than a box made of concrete blocks. Charlie, dressed in faded work pants, rubber boots, and a thick wool sweater, steadied himself with a hand on the top rail of a weathered cedar fence. Behind him, nothing but ash-coloured sky, bare trees, and plumes of smoke belching from the factory in the distance. A lone sparrow rested on a branch, one beady eye watching.

Please have all color-inspired pieces posted before the beginning of class Wednesday so we can comment on each other's work. 

Remember you need to do this piece OR the Color Association Poem-you don't have to do both (but you could!). 

Monday's Option #1: Color Association Poem

 Using the handout template as a rough guide, create a Color Association Poem and share it as a New Post on your own blog.  Include at least one image.  Fold the handout in half and tape it in to your journal to count as an entry this week.  

Please have all color-inspired pieces posted before the beginning of class Wednesday so we can comment on each other's work. 

Remember you need to do this piece OR the 4-paragraph Color Story--you don't have to do both (but you could!). 

Paint Chip Poetry

Please polish and post the paint chip inspired pieces (alliteration!) you came up with in your journal during class on Thursday.  You may group them all in one post or do a separate post for each one.  Include an image for each piece.  Let me show you how to do this if you don't know--it's easy and important to add visual interest to your work.

You can post all your poems, but at minimum please post these (in any order you choose):

• 2:  haikus 
• 1:  acrostic using a paint color name
• 1:  8+ line free verse poem using the paint name as a title or in a line
• 1   8+ line narrative poem that uses the 4 paint color names (or you had the option to write a short piece of prose--memoir or fiction, etc.)

If you finish with this assignment, click around on the info at HGTV about the Psychology of Color, how different colors affect our moods.   There are various color quizzes out there you could try, too.  Or you could continue to customize your blog with gadgets (quotes, images, tools) on your sidebar, or update your profile. Thanks!

Color Collage Poem

In a New Post on your own blog, please post a poem of 8 or more lines inspired by some aspect of your magazine cut-out collage in your journal featuring the paint chip shade you selected. (You could write a short story or memoir piece on this one instead if you'd like.)  

The color may or may not make an appearance in your writing.  Your poem might describe a place, an event, a memory, a feeling, a person, or a combination of those.  It might take the form of a Narrative Poem, a Free Verse Poem, a Rhymed Poem, an Acrostic Poem, or a series of 3 or more Haiku Poems.  

Please include an image to go along with your writing.

Title your post Color Collage Poem. 

Include an Author's Note about the origin of your idea. 

Please post all COLOR-inspired assignments (including another one we will add on Monday) by the beginning of class Wednesday, 29 January.