Last Blog of the Year

Since this is the last blog of the year, please evaluate your blogs. Blogging is supposed to be evaluating and reflecting on what you are learning.  Which topic did you like best? Which topic was not your favorite? Did you put some effort into writing your blogs? Did you just do the minimum? Do you think blogging was a good learning experience? What did you learn from writing your blogs?

Also list your top three stories that we read this year.

Next year there will be a new English teacher, Miss Wolff, in this room.  She will be teaching the classes I am teaching now.  You will not have her as a teacher, but you have some good insight into junior English.  What helpful advice do you have for Miss Wolff?

The Great Gatsby

The book takes place in the Roaring Twenties. There was great music in the 20s. In the book sometimes Fitzgerald actually tells the reader names of songs he thought of while he was writing. Your blog this week should feature a play list of music from the 1920s to accompany events in the book. You do not need to import the music to your blog; you just have to write the titles and artists and tell why you picked those tunes for those events.

Mark Twain's Wit

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) was a famous writer, but he was also a famous speaker. There are many interesting quotes attributed to him. Sometimes the quote actually came from someone else, but because Twain wrote or said it, the quote became "his." "Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead" actually was first written by Ben Franklin, but I have a magnet that attributes that quote to Twain. As Twain aged, he became very cynical, especially after the death of his daughter. Find a Mark Twain quote on the Internet, post it on your blog, and write why you like it or what it means to you.

What's Good?

Write about a book, a movie, a television show, a musical group or performer that you like and why you like it/him/her. 

Stories of the Quest for Civil Rights

There are probably thousands of little-known stories about the Civil Rights Movement. I found one here, but they are all over the Internet. Find a story; post the link; write a connection to what we have read (HOS, King, X, Moody, Baldwin, Walker).

Click to find a shortened walk through Harlem. Click on all the blinking dots to find out more about the city and who lived there. Find the approximate location of Bessie's dentist office and the sisters' apartment (the street numbers are in HOS). Then go here to check out the people and events that made Harlem famous. Check out a couple of people or events you don't know about.

Write a post connecting some of the information you found on these two websites to what Bessie and Sadie tell about Harlem in their book.

Having Your Say

This week you have the opportunity to have your say on anything you feel strongly about. Sadie and Bessie told how they honestly felt about the world they lived in. Pick something you care about and write. Be honest and forthright. Have your say!

Expressions in Art

Tom Feelings was an artist who created art about the Middle Passage and slavery. His artwork was very emotional. Find a piece of art online that portrays a similar subject or event to those described by the Delany sisters and that expresses the same emotional intensity that Sadie and Bessie had about subjects and events in their lives. Write a short reflection connecting the artwork to a subject or event in the book.

Connections from Whitman

Read this poem. Write a reflection about anything in this poem that connects to you in some way or reflect on Whitman's ideas about childhood.

Emily Dickinson's Garden of Poetry

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june10/dickinson_06-09.html


Watch the video; find a Dickinson poem about flowers, gardens, or insects and post it on your blog; write the message you think she is trying to convey in the poem.

(For some reason I can't get the link to activate so you will have to copy and paste in the browser address window.)

Affirmations of Life

"Self Reliance," "Walden," and "Civil Disobedience" contain many observations about everyday life and many affirming statements. Write a paragraph about something good that is happening today or about how to handle something positively that is not so good.

The Truth about Nature

Transcendentalists believed that people could find the truth in nature if they connected with nature and the "oversoul", that spirit in nature that connects us all.
In class we heard some stories of connecting to nature...tree climbing, face to face with wild animals, gardening, fishing, camping, hiking, etc. Write about a time when you have experienced a spiritual connection to nature. Did you find a truth in it? Did the connection alter your way of thinking? What happened, if anything, as a result of that connection? What do you wish had happened? If you have never experienced a connection to nature, why not?

Team Edgar or Team Nathaniel?

Welcome to second semester and welcome back to blogging.

Now that we have studied two of the greatest classic gothic authors, it is time for you to choose. Choose Team Edgar or Team Nathaniel and explain your choice.