September 29 and October 1st

Periods 1 and 3:
Our assignment is on Google Classroom today. The questions are posted there. You should be able to access them there AND turn them in once you have finished.

Period 3 only:
Please help Alexis access the information she needs on google classroom. She needs the code and such (it is on google classroom announcements).

September 26, 2014

Today we finished discussing "Us and Them" as a class. Your homework is to read Lamb to the Slaughter. You can access the document on our google classroom page.

September 24th and 25th 2014

Today we did the following:

1. Talked about effective blog posts. Thank you Grace, Julian, and Brooklynn.
2.  Discussed David Sedaris' work titled "Us and Them."

Homework:
Select one of the following options.

• Blog about a topic of you choice connected to "Us and Them."
• Comedian Joe Ancis once said, The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well." Do you think that Sedaris would agree with this quote? Do you agree? In a blog post, please share your conclusions with me.

Why Read

I have never been "outdoorsy." I mean, don't get me wrong, I didn't mind being outside when I was a kid. If my mom (it's always my mom) forced me out of the house I had an amazing time. I made soup in puddles with sticky milkweed pods and beyond their prime vegetables plucked from the garden. I built forts from boughs and blazed trails in the woods behind our home. If I had had my choice I would never have gotten dirty or messy. We (luckily) had a brook behind the house, so cleaning up was never an issue. This was out of necessity though. What else was I going to do?

If I had it my way (and I often did), I would get lost in books. When I say lost, I mean that I would begin reading and three hours would feel like twenty minutes. I would stay up to read "just one more chapter" and end up finishing a book. I would look around, ready to talk about it only to find that everyone in the house had fallen asleep. It was even worse if I was reading and everyone was awake. I'd look at them (sobbing--I loved dramatic tales) and wonder how they could go about their days when Mr. Darcy was being intolerable, or when Charlotte was passing away.

Our Wiki

https://shelten.wikispaces.com/Honors+Blogs+2014-2015

https://shelten.wikispaces.com/Honors+Blogs+2014-2015

Reading was an escape, but it was more than that. It is more than that. Books are about learning.
I read to escape.
I read to learn.
I read to experience.
I read to explore.
I read to laugh.
I read to cry.
I read to feel.

Interesting Lines

There's something special about being read to. You feel connected. You know that that person is taking time out of their day to read to you.

I found the cover interesting enough, so I read the first page, and then the next...and the next. I was hooked.

the Auto-Parts Magazine for some reason made me so happy. My dad would get it out and lay on the green painted ply-wood floor we had, and I would lay next to him and look at the pictures of parts, just parts, and smile the entire time. I was baffled by that magazine, apparently parts to cars, motorcycles, bikes, lawnmowers, etc. just amused me. We would lay there for a sold hour and I wouldn't take my eyes off of the magazine or stop smiling.

This was my favorite story because of the way he read the book, and the way he used different cowboy voices for each character.

To think that a book can strengthen my love for my mom is so powerful and proves that reading has had such an impact on my life. 

That stopped suddenly when I unknowingly drew something "inappropriate" for the biology section of my encyclopedia. 

I was on the couch almost like I was in a psychologist's office. 

My dad and I have always been really close and sometimes he says lines from the book to me out of nowhere.

I slept most comfortably with a book under my pillow, so much so that when I went over to my friends house, I put a Harry Potter book under my pillow to replace the one at home.

 I always loved reading that book at least twice a day but three times would be better. 

I'm not sure if I could really read yet, but I did like to hold books and look at them.

When I became frustrated with the slowness of reading aloud, I chose my own books and read to myself.

The next time my dad offers me a book I will definitely take it right out of his hands and read it. 

...he referred to objects, such as a phone being a talky thing, I thought this was interesting because I always wonder if dogs think of things like that.

...my dad must have read that to me five times. Im sure he didn't enjoy it, but he read it to me anyway.

September 20

Today we finished presenting Pieces of You projects.
We set up our blogs. They are listed in the wiki below.
WIKI

I also directed you to Google Classroom. Our code is...
2unkv8

Your homework is to read and annotate the Sedaris piece. Also, write a blog post about reading (experiences, enjoyment, loathing, et cetera).

September 15 and 16

Today we continued our discussion of media. We also discussed "And of Clay are We Created."

Homework:
Pieces of You
Read choice book

September 11 and 12

Today we talked about choice books for a bit.
We wrote about "media" as a topic.
Questions (for those of you who were stuck) are as follows:

1. How does media coverage influence our perception of events?
2. Does media coverage (the news) heighten our awareness and empathy, or does it desensitize us to harsh realities?

We set up some "norms" for class discussions. I'm writing the notes from both sections here and I'll combine them into a handout.

1. One person at a time.
2. Watch your voice level.
3. Multiple opinions in one room works well.
4. No put downs.
5. Stay on topic. Ask "Can we change the topic now?" before moving on.
6. Be attentive.
7. Rule of 3.

Homework:

Pieces of You (still due on Thursday and Friday of next week)

Read (and annotate) "And of Clay are We Created"

September 8 and 9 2014

Today we continued discussing Jocasta. For our first discussion of the year I feel like it went fairly well. I'm looking forward to many more.

Homework:
Find a novel that is at or above your reading level. Read for at least 30 minutes before we meet again. You'll complete a project with this book later in the year, so I'll be checking your novels.
Pieces of You is due on the 18th and 19th of September.